With a score of 7.81, Rangers’ POTY till Xmas is…

Going on a purely statistical nature, the SPL player of the season award for the first half of the campaign goes to:

James Tavernier.

Rangers’ captain tops the list of every single SPL player up till Christmas, with a trailblazing 10 assists and a very honourable 4 goals. Indeed, the RB, who only 6 weeks ago fans were screaming to see dropped, scales the heights overall with an SPL-topping rating out of 10 of 7.81, with Celtic’s David Turnbull closing in behind at 7.75.

The reality is Tavernier has been, quietly, Rangers’ most effective player this season, and while Joe Aribo is rightly lauded for his sparkling displays, Tavernier’s stats top the lot.

You won’t be shocked he’s number one for crosses and second for key passes behind Turnbull, and for all the crying for Nathan Patterson to replace him, and the continuing criticism that still persists over the captain, he’s been more impressive overall this season than any other player in blue or indeed the entire league.

We’ve always tried to be fair with Tav. Sometimes he would drive us mental, and sometimes he’s caught completely off guard. But anyone trying to dismiss his contribution and suggest Nathan Patterson is the better bet now is clearly blind to the reality of the number one.

He has benefited from Gio, true, but he had been in form the whole season anyway.

Unfortunately, as things stand, Patterson has no real case for being the first choice.